October 13-17, 2008

[Jonathan]

I am more interested to see what the ratings were for Thursday and Friday. Hopefully there was some sort of bump those 2 days that hopefullly carried into this week.

[dragonflies]

I don't see the tornado doing a whole lot for AMC's OVERALL ratings. They dropped the ball by Soapnet not re-airing Friday's episode over that whole weekend.

Personally right now AMC does NOT deserve good ratings, pretty much every fanbase is getting crapped on, sad when I sit here and think "Hell McTavish wasn't even THIS bad"

[SteveFrame]

What I don't understand is why people think soap viewing should only be about making the fan bases happy now. It used to be about putting out a good show that appealed to a wide range audience with good acting, etc.

No wonder soaps can't get it together anymore because they have evidently got to make the fan bases happy in order for it to be a good show.

I'm sorry if that offends anyone but if we do not get out of that way of thinking then we can all say goodbye to our shows. There is no way they can make it if that is the case.

That is what is wrong now - they are producing the shows to keep the fan bases happy and making sure those favorites are on every single day or at least have some type of airing so that the fan bases don't get pissed off. but sadly either way it goes fan bases can't be happy. If they are on without story then the fan bases are not happy. If they get a story that somehow threatens them they are not happy. I'm sorry folks in soap opera land if you are happy in love there is just not much writers can do with you. There has got to be some kind of threat to the marriage or to the couple to create drama - whehter if be another person or some outside force of some kind.

What is happening now is more dangerous than when the powers that be produced shows with only 1 demo in mind. And it is the biggest thing that is killing soaps. They don't concentrate on producing a good quality show anymore - they concentrate on if the fan bases will be happy and if it is going to appeal to a certain demo.

And we all get pissed on because they are working on making sure the few are happy.

And oh one more thing unhappy fanbases I have 2 words for you:

Danny & Michelle

GL couldn't make that fan base happy - no matter what they did. Every story they wrote for them made that fan base unhappy. Guess where they are today. Written off and forever not seen nor heard from again.

[Soapsuds]

Fans are tuning out because writers continue to insult our intellegence. It has nothing to do with supercouples/fanbases. If written properly the fanbases wouldnt be pissed off. Instead we get contrieved [!@#$%^&*] thrown at us. Which soap right now has a happy couple? Some great old time romance??? I dont see it.

Peg fans...ummm...I am not one of them. But seriously Paul going nutso because he thinks Dusty wants Meg is so absurd and I hate when I am asked to believe [!@#$%^&*] like this. Better storylines equals better ratings not major disasters soaps have been giving us now.

[amazing7]

Soapsuds, thank you so much!

[SteveFrame]

Since when have soap couples been happy.

I suffered through Bill & Laura on Days of Our Lives from 1966 to 1980. Our of that time they were seriously happy maybe a year. The rest of the time they were separated or being threatened in some way. When they finally got together Laura started going insane.

I suffered through Doug & Julie from 1970 to 1984 when they were both fired. For 6 years they hardly even kissed or made love at all. Then they get married only to be threatened very quickly by an affair Doug had, then she got raped, then Julie got burnt and pushed Doug away and divorced him. Doug turned to Lee and married her. It took them 3 more years before they got back together and then they were written off and been backburner ever since.

The only happy couples are either backburnered or written off. It's been that way forever on soaps. That is what soap opera is all about and has been about from day 1 that Irna Phillips created them.

I agree that the writing is bad these days but I kind of feel sorry for the writers because no matter what they do these days they cannot win. There is no way to make the modern fans happy.

Back then we weren't happy about single every thing that happened. But we watched for the show. And we didn't demand that the show center around our faves either. We weren't bombarded with the same characters on every single day. That is the biggest reason I quit watching when I did. I am so tired of the shows being about the same people all the time. But as long as fans get mad when their faves are not front and center things will stay the same.

I have had my favorites all through the years but one thing I had to learn quick many years ago is that there are only 2 ways that writers can basically go with couples. Either split them up or a combination of backburner or writing them out. Sometimes the couples get back together and sometimes they don't.

Many of my favorite couples split up and never got back together. Don & Marlena on Days; Bill & Laura on Days; Chris & Mary on Days; Hogan & Sunny on SFT; Grant & Lisa on ATWT; Nick & Althea on Doctors and many others.

Also many couples saw the death of one of them: Tony & JOanne on SFT; Phil & Tara on AMC; Steve & Alice on AW; Steve & Liza on SFT; Greg & Jenny on AMC; Adam & Nicole on EON; Mike & Leslie on GL; and many others there too.

And many saw them get together and go off togehter: Ned & Eve on Somerset; Lincoln & Kelly on AMC; Doug & Julie on Days; Steve & Betsy on ATWT; and many others there too.

We lived through it. We didn't quit watching. We went on. We saw it as part of life. We kept watching the show and stuck with it. Sometimes they moved on to another coupling that we ended up liking just as much or better than the other.

It is weird that in real life the divorce rate is higher now than it used to be, but soap fans then understood that not everyone can stay together always. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. But now esp. with super couples it is expected that they stay together forever.

And that limits writers with what they can do with those characters. And as long as that is what is expected of the writers, I don't see soaps ever making it out of the doldrums they are in now. You can't keep writing for the same couples over and over and over esp. in an hour long show and keep it interesting. Even with a 30 minute show like B&B fans are tired of it over there.

Bill Bell only kept his Days couples as couples for so long by keeping them apart much of it. Doug & Julie and Bill & Laura were not hardly together any of the time that they were actually couples on their shows.

[sonyab1974]

I like them all except Ryan!!! So they all can stay and Ryan can leave!

[SteveFrame]

I really want all 6 of them gone but if we can only choose 1 I will have to take a tie and say Zach & Kendall. I am so tired of both of them. I am so looking forward to Kendall's short break. If only Zach would go with her.

ETA:

As much as many want Babe gone, I want them gone.

For years now the show has revolved around Babe, Kendall & Greenlee. I am just on overkill of those 3.

[Jess]

I enjoyed the tornado. OLTL still is the stinker of the airwaves. I enjoy Young and the Restless and Days quite a bit.

[Reddi]

Amen to this! It does seem soaps have focused so much on fanbases that they've lost the general viewer.. that's who they need to get back.

I'm thrilled with Pratt's writing so far.. it's not perfect, but it's "old soap" style in that it has good stories for many characters, and they are the types of stories we had at least back in the late 80s. My favorite characters were always doing things that were awful, and I'd scream at the TV and be SO frustrated... why did he or she have to lie! Why make that bad choice! It will ruin their happiness! But it almost always happened, and we watched (in large numbers back then).

If fans just want a happy time for their favs, then fanfiction is where to go. Or a format that has a clear beginning, middle and end. Soaps are not the place for it.

I am glad Pratt appears to be trying to write a WHOLE SHOW instead of just focus on what any particular fanbase (and I include my favs in there) wants.

[Jess]

I think what is quality programming is pretty subjective.

I also think a reasonable person could ask why being a fanbase for a headwriter -- say Ron C. -- is any more or less offensive than being a fanbase for a character or actor.

[marceline]

That's why I think the next few months could be an interesting experiment with Babe gone, Kendall gone - albeit temporarily - and Greenlee going. Because those three have been eating the show for years. Nothing would be better for the show than Ryan's exit, thought.

[Toups]

Here are AMC's numbers cause it seems to be the hot topic.

Total Viewers: AMC 2,506,000 (+76,000/-172,000)

HH: AMC 1.9/7 (same/-.2)

W18-49: AMC 1.1/7 (same/-.2)

Monday: 1.9/2,518,000

Tuesday: 1.7/2,277,000

Wednesday: 1.9/2,535,000

Thursday: 2.1/2,725,000

Friday: 2.0/2,475,000

Too tired to do the rest.

[Jonathan]

Thanks Toups. Those numbers are pretty respectable. I'm glad there was an increase on Thursday and Friday. Too bad it didn't hold strong on Friday because that was an exciting day. I'm hoping there is an upward trend this week.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

At least AMC got that 2.1 on Thursday, which proved heavy off-network promotion for soaps can and will work. However, I'm sure ABC was expecting better numbers for the week overall, averaging a 1.9 and staying the same from last week has to be a disappointment for them, after their heavy promotion.